Ms.

Boone’s Assessment Philosophy

Assessment is not a destination, but is a journey. Assessment should be constant,

with a primary purpose of showing students, teachers and parents where they are in
relation to the curriculum outcomes. Assessments are not meant to judge, scare,
stress or devastate, although that is the reputation that they have gained. Grades
should be a scaffold to learning, not a hindrance.

Formative Assessment Strategies

I believe that formative assessment should be constant in a classroom. It should

also be as invisible as possible to students to ensure that the focus is on the
learning and not the results of the assessment. I believe that recording observations
in anecdotal notes is key to ensuring that I know where my students are at all
times. These notes can refer to academic abilities, especially their thought process
and ability to self-correct. However, anecdotal notes are also very useful for the
observation of group work and social skills. These observations can be used to
create goals for students that are differentiated for each student.

While observations are from the teacher’s point of view, it is also key to discuss
goals and success with the students themselves. I believe in setting up scheduled
conferences with all of my students to discuss their goals, success and struggles.
This involves students in the learning and assessment process, opens up channels
of communication that the student may not have initiated, and offers insights into
their learning that may not otherwise by visible (Davies, 2011). Conferences will
be where I set goals with students. These conversations, while useful as assessment
for learning, will continued to be used during learning as well as after lesson.

Setting Goals

Setting goals is key to achieving success in any field. However, goals only contain
meaning if set by the person pursuing them. For this reason, I believe that goals
must be set in collaboration with students, through conferencing and conversations
(Davies, 2011). This can be done in several ways. One strategy that I look forward
to implementing in my future classroom is having goal trackers in each student’s
book. For example, each student would have a chart with four section labelled
“Starting, making progress, almost there, and Got it!” These labels would change
with the grade level. Each will have a Velcro under it, with a star that can move
from one place to another. Above this chart will be a laminated piece of paper
where students (or the teacher, depending on the grade) can write their goal(s).
This allows for differentiation because you may have one student who needs to
work on writing stamina, one who needs to print on the lines, one who can work on
voice, capital letters, etc. During writer’s workshop, students have a constant
reminder of their goals, and can move the star as they believe their work is moving
along. When they reach the Got it! stage, they can choose one or two examples that
they believe prove that they have reached their goal. This would be brought to the
teacher and later placed in their portfolio. Further, this increases the room for redos
because students should strive to improve their work until it reaches their goal.

Strategies such as the one outlined above use conversations and conferences during
the learning process to collaborate with students to create goals in order focus and
motivate student’s learning (Davies, 2011). Students are consistently assessing
their own work and effort and will be motivated to move the star to the end before
proving to the teacher that they have reached their goal and are prepared to tackle
another one.

Summative Assessment Strategies

In addition to formative assessments, teachers need to produce some form of

summative assessment to act as tangible proof of the student’s learning (Davies,
2011). However, many of the traditional methods cause anxiety among students,
can act as a hindrance to learning and use instructional time. For these reasons, I
am an advocate for the use of portfolios.

Portfolios require minimal time in class to administer, as it is an ongoing process.

They also involve students in the assessment process, requiring them to look at the
goals and choose quality material to prove to parents, teachers and themselves, that
have met said goals. Portfolios also show growth over time, act as a motivator for
students and provide a clearer picture to parents and teachers.

I will use portfolios in my classroom. The form it takes will change depending on
the grade level. For young grades, it may be as simple as a writing portfolio, and
collecting the pieces that the students choose to read aloud to the class. In math, it
may be a collection of pictures and work completed by students. For older grades,
it can become more complex, with folders for each subject, and allow students to
add material at any given time.

Of course, the overall assessment is not merely the portfolio. Rather, it is only a
piece of the data. A triangulation of data is necessary to provide a holistic view of
the student’s learning – the product portion of the product-communication-
observation assessment triangle (Herbst & Davies, 2016).

Parent Communication

It is important to consider the audience when creating and conducting assessments.

Students and teachers are only part of the primary audience. Especially in the
elementary grades, parents are a key audience. Parents who are genuinely
concerned about their child’s progress in school often wish for more feedback
beyond a simple number or letter grade. I will provide students and parents with
descriptive feedback outlining strengths, weaknesses and next steps, as it is
suggested we do on the New Brunswick Provincial report cards (NB Department
of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2016).

I also believe that this feedback should not only be given at report card time.
Rather, it should be a continuous conversation among teachers, parents and
students and should include both success and struggles. For example, instead of
merely informing parents that their child has moved up a reading level, feedback
should be provided regarding why they moved up the reading level and how they
can move to the next level.

Overall, I will plan my assessments in a triangulated manner to be consistent,

effective and student centered. My assessments will not indicate failure, but will
work towards success. I do not believe in assessments that cause anxiety, and
instead believe that assessments should be used to set individualized goals, without
judgment. Assessments, when done correctly, will not judge completed work, but
will promote learning – reaching the goal of teaching.
 References
Davies, Anne. (2011) Making Classroom Assessment Work (Third Edition) Courtenay, BC:
Connections Publishing.

Herbst, Sandra and Davies, Anne. (2016) Grading, Reporting, and Professional Judgment in the
Elementary Classrooms Courtenay, BC: Connections Publishing.

New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Education. Guidelines for New
Brunswick K-8 Teachers. September 2016.